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    Santa Fe Canoe Outpost

    3.9 (31 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

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    RaSheba J.

    I usually go kayaking once a year during the summer. This time I went to Santa Fe Canoe a outpost and I was pleased with my experience. My friend set up a reservation but as usual people dropped out and the guys were so flexible with us. They provided us with a map to follow the path. It was very easy to use and was an accurate representation of the river. The path was supposed to take three hours to do the whole path, but we did it in two and a half. We actually cruised most of the path since we were going with the current. The guys picked us up exactly at 1pm and loaded everything in, in a decent amount of time. I would definitely go with them again.

    Frank H.

    We did the 15 mile day trip and it was AWESOME! There was a small storm that popped up and we hunkered down at Lilly Springs to wait for it to pass. It was a great day otherwise, we saw 3 deer, 3 alligators and more turtles than you could count. We went on a Tuesday and we had the whole river nearly to ourselves. I think we will be back!

    Map of Santa Fe River
    Brad L.

    Great adventure! My fiancee and I did this one weekend and had a great time. We saw probably a hundred turtles and at least 3 alligators. For the most part, we were the only ones around, but did see others here and there. We did the 7 mile trip from the Outpost to Rum Island. Definitely a worthwhile outing if you're in the area.

    Amazing view.

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    Business is closed. No answer at phone number. There is no kayak shuttle available in the area.

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    13 years ago

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    8 years ago

    Love kayaking. this place makes doing so easy. Staff is really nice. Definitely worth giving a try.

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    8 years ago

    Best place to rent on Santa Fe. Knowledgable staff that's been there for years. Great trip!

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    Ask the Community - Santa Fe Canoe Outpost

    Review Highlights - Santa Fe Canoe Outpost

    Rum Island was nice-- the springhead showed up bright blue and clear, and the water was fine.

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    Rum Island Park

    Rum Island Park

    4.0(4 reviews)
    4.2 mi

    Park was easy to find, didn't cost much to get in just few dollars and has nice swim area and…read morelaunch to put in kayaks..

    Rum Island is a park maintained by Columbia County. It offers access to the Santa Fe River for…read morelaunching boats (canoes and kayaks are especially popular) and access to a small spring for swimming. This spring is right on the river and will "brown-out" (become overflowed by dark river water and made less-appealing for swimming) when the river rises or when the natural flow of the spring decreases. Much of the time it is clear though and because the admission to Rum Island is free, it's a popular spot in the summer. I've free-dived the spring and it's often a bit dark but you sometimes can see a lot of fish. Though the county has provided a walkway and boardwalks leading into the spring, they only furnish Port-a-Potties for restrooms and there is nowhere (aside from your car) to change clothes and no showers. That said, let's be grateful to Columbia County for providing it at all. The name comes from the fact that the actual island which is in the river (and can be reached via canoe or swimming) was used apparently during Prohibition as a bootlegger's hideaway. Because it's now a county park, you cannot drink rum or any liquor here now, alas. Several families living on the long, twisting, road to the park have dogs and cats that may be in the road, so please go slow and be careful so you don't hit someone's pet.

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    Rum Island Park
    Rum Island Park
    Rum Island Park

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    Ichetucknee Springs State Park - General Store

    Ichetucknee Springs State Park

    4.2(134 reviews)
    12.2 mi

    There are so many springs in Florida I've been wanting to visit. I finally made the time to check…read moreout Ichetucknee in Fort White, FL. This spring was one hour 45 minutes from Jacksonville. My friend and I traveled to Alachua Friday after work and stayed in a new Hampton Inn. I didn't want to get up early Saturday to drive nearly two hours and Alachua was roughly 20 minutes from the park. Lake City, the same distance as Alachua, had higher priced hotels. No thanks! I reserved our tubes and paid for the tram ride online a few days prior. We arrived at the park about 8:45 AM, with a 9 AM reservation for the tubes. There was a bit of a wait to enter the park. I suggest having $6 cash (park entry fee) ready as this will shorten your wait time. They do accept credit cards too. Parking was open so we found a shaded spot. We checked in at the wooden canapy and were given wrist bands and a key tag and advised to get in line to drop off my car key (they will hold for $3). You don't want to lose your key in the river;) We were also given a paper to pick up our tubes. Be sure to pick up a water proof pouch for your phone prior to arrival. I found one at Walmart for $5. And bring a metal cup if you want water while floating down the river or checking out any of the springs as they DO NOT allow plastic water bottles. Lastly we picked up our tubes which was pretty quick. Then we followed the path to the river entry. There was a park employee there checking bags including our water proof phone pouch (we had to show both sides). Check the website for items you are not permitted to take on the river. The tube ride was roughly 45 minutes to an hour. We saw birds, turtles and fish. Thankfully we saw no snakes or alligators, but they are around as it's a 2,000 acre park. The ride was relaxing as well as nature's sounds! Highly recommend! Once at the end, we hopped off our tubes and walked to the tram pickup spot. If you don't want to pay for the tram there is a walking trail leading back to the parking lot. No thanks lol! You can ride as many times as you want. We only did it once as we wanted to check out the Blue Hole. We had to leave the south entrance of the park and drive 10 minutes to the north entrance. One park entry fee allows you to access both park entrances. We walked a 10 minute shaded trail back to the Blue Hole. I slowly entered the 72 degree water via metal stairs. I swam for a short period as it was cold lol. But gorgeous blue water with a strong current due to the underwater caves. I suggest bringing snorkeling gear so you can see the caves below. There was also a bigger area of springs you could relax and swim a short walk from the parking lot. It was a fabulous day at the springs. I look forward to going back again!

    Beautiful, special place!! Just wish we had the time to see MORE!!…read more Not that there's anything wrong with all the beautiful (but at times EXTREMELY overcrowded/commercialized...) beaches of Florida, and if theme parks are your thing, FL is your place, but this park, in this wonderful, semi-undiscovered (by most travelers from up north, and even other Floridians, it seems...) part of the state is where I hope to return again and again!! Yes, I hear it gets MUCH more crowded on weekends/summer season, but if you plan well and/or get lucky on an "off" day, you'll have as WONDERFUL an experience as my friend and I did during a recent visit, and get busy planning your NEXT visit before you've even left the exit!! We arrived early to tube. The park's website was not quite as user-friendly as it could have been, but we figured it out, and reserved for an early tubing trip down the river. After a quick-ish hike with our tubes on a path through the woods (I think you can also take the tram...) we launched off the dock and took a BEAUTIFUL, peaceful ride down the river. Since we were there on a weekday, crowds were not bad at all, and we had a wonderful, leisurely float down the river, passing kayaks, other tubers, and paddle boards, along with MANY turtles, beautiful birds, and even a stealthy manatee!!

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    Ichetucknee Springs State Park - Check in

    Check in

    Ichetucknee Springs State Park
    Ichetucknee Springs State Park

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    Ginnie Spring

    Ginnie Spring

    3.2(277 reviews)
    5.8 mi

    Since my last review was over a decade ago, probably time for an update. I don't come to Ginnie as…read moreoften as other area springs but it's worth a visit now and then--on weekday mornings ideally if you want to freedive, swim, and miss the crowds of the weekend. It's a good camping destination, too. For me, the main draw however is freediving and there's plenty here to see. You cannot and should not by any means enter caves as a freediver--it's forbidden and even for highly-experienced freedivers, dangerous. If we freedivers don't want to wear out our proverbial welcome, yes, we need to behave. Cave-certified SCUBA divers are the only ones to enter caves. I want to address some things which came up between my own observations and what I've read in other reviews here. For one, the food. This isn't a good place to get good food. If you want something nice, get it "in town" in High Springs or bring something to cook if camping. For that matter, bring your snacks and gear because expectedly things are a bit overpriced at the merch store here. If you don't what the place to be loud, busy, and long lines then don't come on weekends and holidays. It's that simple. This is a business and they'll let in as many people as they safely can let in. As far as loud music and uneven enforcement of rules, I think this just comes down to different employees acting their own way. Most summer help is students, they're not going to have the discernment and acumen of a veteran police officer in dealing with people. Most are nice, some are lax, some overzealous. About the bath houses and other facilities. I think things are in pretty good shape--on par with bath houses at campgrounds in the Ocala National Forest, in example. Nothing was horribly dirty any time I was there but folks--this is camping. Remember that. I don't see the need for tram or shuttle, either. Maybe for disabled or infirm folks but most of us can simply walk between springs and should. Overall I feel Ginnie is well-run for what it is, with your normal business caveats like they'll charge what they can get away with in their store which is exactly why you want to buy stuff at Walmart or whatever prior to coming here. It's a great place to camp and unique, beautiful, springs you'll remember your entire lifetime.

    Ginnie springs is an amazing private property camping spot for trails, swimming in the springs and…read morea great weekend camping. Highly recommend not coming on the holidays. You get this mix of ghetto hick thugs speeding through the park flashing whatever bs they think is cool. They are trying to crack down but the park is big and there's always someone has to ruin it for visitors. Great spot on week days. One of the few places you can drink and float down the river and hit some springs. I've had many great times

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    Ginnie Spring
    Ginnie Spring
    Ginnie Spring - Beautiful!

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    Beautiful!

    Santa Fe Canoe Outpost - parks - Updated May 2026

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